King of the Circles
King of the Circles is the twenty-sixth episode of ShapeTales. The story is a parody of J. R. R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" series and the film trilogy. Plot Randalf arrives in the shire for Billboy Baggypants' 122nd birthday party. Billboy talks about retiring and leaving the shire and uses a strange bean to produce a birthday cake. Returning to his home, he finds Randalf waiting in his living room. Randalf remarks on Billboy's impressive height, his fine clothing, and his luxuriously appointed home, knowing they have come from the circle, and warns his friend of using such things lightly. Billboy concedes that the bean has given him almost everything he could want. He then announces that he is leaving the shire due to dissatisfaction and bequeathing everything he owns, including the circle, to his nephew Toto. Waiting for Toto, Randalf relates that Billboy has departed and draws his attention to the circle. Toto is curious as to why he would want a bean and Randalf describes the origin of a magical circle that could produce clothing, consumables, and small kitchen appliances, and also change your appearance. After verifying the bean's authenticity from an inscription left after warming it in the fire, Toto is unsure about accepting such a gift and tries to pass it off to Randalf. However, Randalf explains that one cannot choose his gifts and must determine for himself how they should best be used. He then suggests that Toto travel to the Elders of the Razzberry Forest for insight with some friends that he has already gathered to assist with the journey: the ranger, Ear-a-Corn; the elf, Leg-O-Lamb; the dwarf, Grumpy; and Leg-O-Lamb's brother who had nothing better to do. They trek through the Mountains of Much Snowia and eventually reach the Razzberry Forest. There, Randalf warns the others not to laugh because the elders have lost their sense of humor. The Elders welcome them and inform Randalf that they must travel to the Land of Woe. The others burst into laughter upon hearing the greetings and native tongue of the Elders, which involves blowing raspberries. This gets them sentenced to detention on a platform forever until an eagle "saves" them and they escape. Leaving the forest, they emerge near the entrance to the Land of Woe. After opening the door, they realize that Toto is the only one small enough to fit through and he proceeds alone. However, the remainder of the group soon learns that a group of sporks, minions of the evil Scaryman, are after Toto in order to seize the bean for their master. The fellowship then goes in pursuit. In the Land of Woe, Toto encounters a strange creature named Ahem, who reveals that he was once a normal flobbit like Toto and the former owner of the circle. Ahem then agrees to accompany Toto into Woe as a guide. Meanwhile, the others charge through the Red Gate, only to be trapped by the Sporks. The "Other Elf" then bakes cookies and gives them to the Sporks who have not eaten anything for days and the fellowship journeys on. Toto and Ahem arrive in Woe to find a desperate people lacking the most basic necessities, such as food and water. Ahem wants Toto to leave them, to use the circle for his own creature comforts, but Toto recognizes that he can use it to help the people of Woe. The fellowship arrives just ahead of Scaryman, who steals the circle. However, Billboy suddenly reappears, recovering the bean and returning it to Toto. Toto throws the circle into the well, bringing water back to the Land of Woe and restoring it to its fertile and beautiful state. Fun Facts Explanations *An optical illusion is a way of seeing something that does not exist or that is other than it appears. Trivia *This is the last time the 1997 Big World closing bumper is used. *This is the first main ShapeTales episode where there's no commentary track. Mike Vischer and Tim Hodge later apologized about it. Though a character commentary track was featured in the DVD. *Shortly after the episode's release, Mike Vischer got a notice from New Line Cinema about them not legally parodying the "Lord of the Rings" films without permission. This is the reason why The Wonderful Wizard of Paws was late in production. *Alvin got his unicycle from saving 500 boxtops from Frosted Flaky Flippers. *The answers the Fellowship guessed before Toto spoke up **A cow **An ostrich with a suitcase **Bacon **A vicuna **A three ring binder **A vespa **A lint *The things Billboy got/received with the bean are: **Making himself taller. **Fine clothing. **An espresso maker. **A birthday cake. *The things Ahem/Spiegel got/received with the bean are: **Fine clothing. **Lifetime of food (e.g., pizza, cupcakes). **A fountain of Grape Nehi that shoots out from the ground. **A 200 pound marshmallow Peep. Remarks *Alvin doesn't have legs, and yet he can pedal the unicycle. *Some of the other flobbits at Billboy's party are just cardboard cutouts. *This is one of the episodes where the Shapey Song is in the later half in the runtime. *Jimmy seems to show his inner feelings of the What Have We Learned Song. Even Alvin thinks he's somewhat out of place. Goofs *When Randalf pops up and asks Billboy why he looks different, Billboy is cross-eyed. Inside References *Some references in the countertop, such as Alvin almost falling in the sink and mentions of ShapeBeat were from Isaac, Tyler & Gabriel. In fact, this episode was released ten years after that said episode was released (1995). *Some of the sets were reused from the previous episode, such as the mountains and the underground lair. Even the hairbrush Grumpy offers to Ahem was from that episode. *The small bee that shows up in the beginning and later appears when the group were stuck on the tree is the same model as Doddle Doo. *Some of the flobbits were about to eat a slice of pizza. *The Other Elf offers the sporks cookies. *Scaryman's "Show yourself!" is an echo of Comma-Man's line when he encountered Khail. *Alvin riding a unicycle is a talent he previously did on The Good, the Bad, and the Eggly. Real World References *Frosted Flay Flippers is a play on words for Kellog's Frosted Flakes. *Jerry's entire motif is a reference to the Keebler elf. Fast Forward *Mr. Rick and his habit for labor-saving devices would come in the second feature film. Category:ShapeTales